Germany protests attack of priest by soldiers

By Alex Bell
18 November 2009

The German government has sent a written protest to Zimbabwe over the attack on a German priest by soldiers over the weekend.

Father Wolfgang Thamm, who is a priest in Banket, was on a mercy mission in Darwendale on Sunday afternoon when he was attacked. The priest, who has worked in Zimbabwe for the past 12 years, was on his way to fetch an ill child from Darwendale clinic, and take him to Banket hospital for better care. But, about half way there, he was flagged down by a group of soldiers when he passed a local farm building that has been commandeered by the army as an informal barracks. Father Thamm did not notice the soldiers trying to wave him down, and when he eventually slowed his car and reversed back to the uniformed and armed soldiers, he was met with a hail of abuse.

One of the soldiers ripped off the priest’s glasses and punched him in the eye, which was already damaged from a vicious beating he sustained in the 2002 elections. He was then hauled out of the vehicle, punched again and shoved into a large muddy puddle, where he was kicked in the stomach twice and beaten again. The soldiers then used a container to pour muddy water over him from head to toe, until even his shoes were full of mud. He was then ordered to leave. Father Thamm then drove to Darwendale clinic where he was treated and clothed.

The German embassy has since expressed its outrage for the treatment of one of its citizens, writing in a letter to the government that it expressed its “utter consternation about the violent attack.” The embassy, which described the attack as ‘unacceptable’ and ‘particularly despicable said in the letter to Zimbabwe’s Foreign Affairs Ministry that it expects Harare to take “appropriate action against the perpetrators and urges them to do their utmost to prevent this kind of incident from happening again”.

Meanwhile, Robert Mugabe’s whereabouts on the day that the priest was attacked by his armed forces, has shocked observers. The dictator, who flew to Italy for a UN Food Summit over the weekend, was in Rome attending a Catholic mass, overseen by the Pope. Observers say it is ‘obscene’ and ‘cynical’ and paints a true picture of the crisis in Zimbabwe, where innocent people are daily becoming victims of Mugabe’s enforcers of power.